First Regular Session

Sixty-second General Assembly

LLS NO. R99­0916.01 Jason Gelender

STATE OF COLORADO

BY REPRESENTATIVES Hagedorn, Grossman, Coleman, Gagliardi, Miller, Tochtrop, Veiga, and S. Williams;

also SENATORS Phillips, Matsunaka, Nichol, Perlmutter.

APPROPRIATIONS

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 99-1033

CONCERNING AN INTERIM STUDY OF THE ROLE OF THE STATE WITH RESPECT TO URBAN SPRAWL.

WHEREAS, The General Assembly recognizes that urban sprawl is a type of low­density land development that is associated with population loss in central cities and older suburbs and population growth in suburban areas and other newly developed areas; and

WHEREAS, Urban sprawl often has a variety of adverse consequences that result in diminished quality of life, including loss of productive agricultural land, increased traffic congestion, and increased costs for existing central cities and older suburbs; and

WHEREAS, Since local governments have historically been primarily responsible for determining patterns of growth, the General Assembly must determine whether state policies and subsidies significantly affect such patterns of growth in a manner that encourages urban sprawl; and

WHEREAS, State policies and programs should recognize the primacy of local decision making on issues that affect land use and growth by:

(1)  Minimizing subsidies that inadvertently encourage patterns of land use and growth that contribute to urban sprawl or that are contrary to the wishes of local communities;

(2)  Providing information to local communities that will allow such communities to make informed decisions regarding land use and growth; and

(3)  Encouraging collaborative working relationships among local communities and different levels of government throughout the state with respect to issues, including but not limited to transportation issues and environmental issues, that are related to growth and urban sprawl and that often go beyond the boundaries of local communities; and

WHEREAS, To date the General Assembly has not systematically or comprehensively examined the effect of state policies on urban sprawl; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty­second General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:

(1)  That there shall be a committee to meet in the interim after the First Regular Session of the Sixty­second General Assembly to study the role of the state with respect to urban sprawl. Such interim committee shall consist of six members of the General Assembly. Three of such members shall be from the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and three of such members shall be from the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate. No more than two of the members from the House of Representatives and two of the members from the Senate shall be from the same political party. In studying the role of the state with respect to urban sprawl, the committee shall perform the following duties:

(a)  Discuss and determine whether and to what extent state transportation policies and programs encourage urban sprawl and associated growth­related problems;

(b)  Review state taxes and incentives, including but not limited to housing incentives and tax credits for new businesses, and identify any taxes and incentives that may encourage new construction rather than refurbishment of existing structures or that otherwise contribute to urban sprawl;

(c)  Discuss and determine whether and to what extent state environmental policies and requirements discourage development in central cities and older suburbs and encourage development of undeveloped land and prime agricultural land;

(d)  Review and discuss state policies regarding public utility pricing, including the requirement for contributions to the cost of serving rural areas, and determine whether and to what extent such policies encourage urban sprawl by subsidizing new development at the suburban fringe and in rural areas that are more expensive to serve than existing communities; and

(e)  Review and discuss existing collaborative working relationships among local communities and different levels of government throughout the state with respect to issues related to growth and urban sprawl and make recommendations as to how such working relationships can be improved.

(2)  That, in conducting such study, the interim committee shall consult with counties, municipalities, special districts, school districts, taxpayer groups, businesses, appropriate local and state agencies, environmental groups, chambers of commerce, and interested members of the public and may hold public hearings in locations outside the Denver metropolitan area as deemed necessary for purposes of the study. The study shall not require additional staff for any state agency or any additional appropriation to any such state agency.

(3)  That the interim committee may recommend and develop legislation to help local governments reduce urban sprawl or modify state policies and programs that contribute to urban sprawl.

(4)  That the Legislative Council shall report the findings and recommendations of the interim committee to the Second Regular Session of the Sixty­second General Assembly.

(5)  That all expenditures incurred in the conduct of the study enumerated in this Resolution shall be approved by the chairperson of the Legislative Council and paid by vouchers and warrants drawn as provided by law from funds allocated to the Legislative Council from appropriations made by the General Assembly.